No Fair!

It’s the time of year parents breathe that sigh of relief – the kids are settled back into a school routine!  And no sooner are the kids established into class than the recess bell rings and a well-known phrase is heard from schoolyard to gymnasium.  No fair!

The kid who doesn’t get picked for dodge ball thinks it.  The little girl who has been waiting for a swing gets pushed aside by a bigger older fourth-grader.  “No fair.”  The hard-working introverted young man is denied a promotion given instead to the bright, outgoing young woman.  His insides yell it.  Our neighbor drives by in yet another new car while we’re patting the dashboard of our old clunker begging it to just start today, please.  This is so unfair.

We heard the answer throughout our growing up.  We got tired of hearing it.  Yet when we became parents and our children ranted against the unfairness of it all, it came so easily to our lips.  “Life isn’t fair.”

The only thing that makes us more furious than injustice is our inability to fix it.  We stress over unfairness in the workplace, our relationships, possessions and the directions our lives are going.  Do we have any hope of ever seeing it made right?

Proverbs 29:26 says, “…but it is from the Lord that man gets justice.”  So what are our options?  When that driver cuts us off on the interstate, do we chase him down and get him told?  Do we instead pray that God will take care of him, make sure he gets a ticket? Is there any way other than stress and worry?

Why not approach life’s little injustices and indignities with God’s help?  Is the problem something we can fix by working harder or by dealing sensitively with another person?  If not, perhaps the best approach would be to know that God will make it right.

Know that, if He’s not willing to change circumstances this moment, in our next lives He will give us something better.  Or we will be so happy we simply won’t care anymore!

Is anger over some injustice done to you at work or to one of your children eating you up inside?  Are you dealing with envy over something someone has that you believe you deserve instead?  Has the unfairness of this life become a burden that you pick up and carry with you every morning?  Lay it down!  God knows you better than you know yourself.  He will make it right.  He’s aware of circumstances you can’t possibly know.  He may be protecting you.  Trust Him to do what He does.  What is in your bag of injustice that you are willing to lay at His feet?

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.